Cochin colour question

I breed great quality Mille fleur bantam Cochins. They are smooth feathered, and I am very interesting in starting a line of frizzles.
I've looked for a couple of years and it seems that Mille frizzles are all but impossible to find.
However, frizzle Cochins of every other colour are very plentiful around here.
So, my question is, what's a very recessive colour? I want to get a frizzle roo to breed to my girls and breed back, and back, until I eventually have Mille fleur frizzles.
So, what would be the best colour to start with? Something that blends well with milles, or, preferably, a colour that will take the back seat and let the Mille be dominant?
Thanks for any information!

MadamPoofyBrow said:

I breed great quality Mille fleur bantam Cochins. They are smooth feathered, and I am very interesting in starting a line of frizzles.
I've looked for a couple of years and it seems that Mille frizzles are all but impossible to find.
However, frizzle Cochins of every other colour are very plentiful around here.
So, my question is, what's a very recessive colour? I want to get a frizzle roo to breed to my girls and breed back, and back, until I eventually have Mille fleur frizzles.
So, what would be the best colour to start with? Something that blends well with milles, or, preferably, a colour that will take the back seat and let the Mille be dominant?
Thanks for any information!

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Mille Fleur speckling is recessive. It's a pattern gene, not a base color gene. A Partridge, Buff, or Gold Laced frizzled rooster should work. You won't get any Mille Fleur chicks in the first generation, though. Select a frizzled cockerel from the first breeding, and breed him back to the Mille Fleur hens. That should produce some frizzled chicks with some speckling. Keep selecting for the speckling, and eventually you will get good birds. But do not ever breed two frizzled birds together, no matter how good they are. Always breed frizzle to smooth.

junebuggena said:

Mille Fleur speckling is recessive. It's a pattern gene, not a base color gene. A Partridge, Buff, or Gold Laced frizzled rooster should work. You won't get any Mille Fleur chicks in the first generation, though. Select a frizzled cockerel from the first breeding, and breed him back to the Mille Fleur hens. That should produce some frizzled chicks with some speckling. Keep selecting for the speckling, and eventually you will get good birds. But do not ever breed two frizzled birds together, no matter how good they are. Always breed frizzle to smooth.

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I assumed it would be something like that. I'm willing to work with it for generations. I can probably find a buff or partridge roo pretty easily.
I used to breed frizzled Silkies, so I'm pretty experienced with how the gene works. I once rescued a double frizzle hen. I've still got her. She's super sweet, just bald XD

What if I can find a mottled Cochin frizzle rooster? Would that be good to breed toward milles?

MadamPoofyBrow said:

I assumed it would be something like that. I'm willing to work with it for generations. I can probably find a buff or partridge roo pretty easily.
I used to breed frizzled Silkies, so I'm pretty experienced with how the gene works. I once rescued a double frizzle hen. I've still got her. She's super sweet, just bald XD

What if I can find a mottled Cochin frizzle rooster? Would that be good to breed toward milles?

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No. You want to avoid any birds that might have extended black or a silver base color. Stick with a gold/red base color and breed toward the pattern that you want.

Okay, thanks for the info! I'll start looking for a roo with your description, and see if I can get a pic to post before I get him XD

I was going to try something like that. I had eggs from someone and they were supposed to be frizzled calicos, but there was something wrong with her birds and I had a poor hatch rate and the chicks all failed to thrive. But my plan was to order some red frizzles from a hatchery and interbreed the two, smooth to frizzled. I'm not sure if there's a difference between mille fleur and calico, but I was wanting a more red base color and the flock my eggs came from was more of a buff/tan. Hence my choice of red. Anyway, I figured it would take a few generations with some back crossing but could be done with some good selective breeding.

Now, since I lost all the calicos, I still have the red frizzles coming. Added some barred Cochins to make frizzled sex links . I'd love to start a pen of the calicos again, they're adorable. But pen space is at a premium......

Here's my latest update!

I've been searching for a frizzle cochin for over four months before I really knew what colour I was looking for. All I've been able to find were hatching eggs, and even then, they were for white and/or black frizzle cochins. So, I thought, this may be harder than I thought...

Flashback two years ago: Mille Fleur Cochins are just a tiny bit of my chickens. I've got...maybe...five? I don't realize, yet, that the birds I have are any good...They're just cute. I'm breeding Silkies. Got some SQ birds who are hatching out chicks by the dozen. I've got people coming from miles around for my partridge and paints (my main project). One lady comes and gets two young pullets, I learn briefly she raises mille fleur cochins as well. She takes her birds home, and that's all I know...for two years...

I get out of Silkies, except my best pair of paints, and sell out of all my Polish, except my first pair who are now too old to have chicks anyway. I'm now focusing on Tribble Seramas and Mille Fleur Cochins.
Yesterday, I randomly emailed the lady who had gotten the two pullets to see if she'd want to swap some mille chick cause I wanted some new blood in my flock.
She emails back that she might want to do that in a bit when she'll have chicks hatching, and that now, she has a FRIZZLE MILLE FLEUR COCHIN ROOSTER that I could have for $20!!!
She lives in the same town as me and I am totally all over getting this boy...she said she'll send a pic, and I'll post for an opinion when I get it.
What do y'all thing of this? I should go for it, right?
I can't wait to get the pic!!! I didn't see this coming, this is amazing...

That's so great! Skip all the hard work and go straight to what you want.

I know right! From what I understand, she ordered hatching eggs from a big deal breeder in Georgia. She kept the frizzle hens and a smooth rooster, and now doesn't need this frizzle boy. I'm so glad I emailed her yesterday spur of the moment before he got gone!

How great!

This is what I think of when folks come on here and post "no one around me keeps X breed".....truth is, you just never know! I can't wait to see a picture of him.